Boys Are Cats
by What's the Big Idea
Summary: Bad habits are hard to break. (inspired by thescuttlebugg's 'Marinette thinks boys are cats' au. Might do more if I have ideas to work with, idk.)
1. 1

After over a year of cooperation, it became a habit.

Chat Noir, as cliché as it was to say it aloud, was _very_ catlike. At first he'd been more boy than cat, but as time went on and she chuckled at his antics or smiled when he purred, he'd entirely given up on hiding his kitten side, and nowadays Chat Noir would shamelessly find himself batting at her pigtails or purring when she deigned to smooth a hand through his hair or under his chin. Whenever she wanted him to stop punning for half a minute for her to strategize, a sure-fire way of getting his silence was to send her fingers running through his hair, after which he'd promptly melt into a puddle of purring, leather goo.

It was really adorable, actually, so she might have had a part in ensuring the habit stuck.

Of course, had she known it would come back to bite her, she would never have done it at all.

* * *

It was a normal day, if any day was normal, at Collége Francois-Dupont. A short break in classes had given Alya the opportunity to show her the newest pictures and recordings - all familiar, of course, since she'd been _in_ them, but she enjoyed watching her friend work herself up over her superhero alter ego.

Slumping to one side, she let her hand dangle off the edge of the table and nodded along to Alya's mile-a-minute play-by-play. It took a bit of concentration, if she were honest, making sure that she asked the right questions - it was a bit difficult when she knew all the facts and more. Her fingers ran through soft hair as she puzzled out her next question.

"-so then I had to take a shortcut through the road just left of that, and Ladybug leaped _right over my head_ , look, here's the picture-" A picture of Ladybug, legs splayed as she jumped, and Chat Noir's baton inching over the edge was shoved in her face. "It was _so cool_ , Marinette, and then I followed them up past that to the square just outside the- theatre..."

Marinette blinked. Alya blinked and then smiled brightly, turning back to her phone. "Hold on, girl, let me find my camera, I have another picture to show you," she said. Marinette knew that tone; it was Alya's I'm-plotting-something-and-not-telling-you tone, one she'd learned to dread. Alya's phone came up again, and Marinette had the sneaking suspicion that she was taking a picture of something.

"What?" Marinette asked. "Is there someone behind me?"

A moment of silence was punctuated by soft giggling, but when it died down, Marinette heard an unmistakeable _purr_ rumble through the room.

It was soft and sweet, and slightly less pronounced but no less pleased than her kitty's purr. It was also a bit less constant, as if it came in long bursts rather than a single, continuous rumble, but it was _definitely_ a purr.

Marinette's hands froze and her head snapped down to the boy sitting in front of her.

Adrien, at some point, had leaned back into her hand - _oh god, she'd been petting him for the past few minutes at least_ \- and looked pleased as a cat who'd caught the canary. His hair was extremely rumpled, but the smile on his face was far from the ones she normally saw - it was a few inches too wide, and _extremely_ sappy. Unfortunately, the adorable sight ended when his bright green eyes snapped open and the quiet purr ended in a heartbeat.

Adrien looked like he wanted to say something. Marinette was _mortified._ Had she invaded his personal space? What was she even supposed to say? It must've taken him ages to get his hair so perfect, and now she'd just ran her hands through it like a child in a fabric shop.

But, well. She did this to Chat Noir all the time, and the note of panic had subsided. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of a good excuse. So... what now?

 _DENY IT!_ Screamed her frantic brain, so she opened her mouth and asked, "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

Alya gaped at her. Marinette fought to keep her poker face on, even when Nino's eyes flicked between her and Adrien like he was watching a see-saw. She glanced down at Adrien and immediately regretted it.

The way he was _looking_ at her was going to _kill_ her. His mouth was slightly open, his hair was hopelessly rumpled, and his _eyes_ were blown wide and begging, the same way Chat did every time he wanted something she'd denied him. He was probably going cross eyed from staring longingly at her fingers. _Her fingers._

 _Well, guess I'm dead anyways,_ Marinette decided, shutting down the part of her brain screaming about what a bad idea this was. Her fingers reached out again and she ran them straight through Adrien's hair.

Adrien _melted_.

Marinette watched in idle fascination as he completely slumped into the back of her desk, eyes falling closed and gooey smile returning tenfold. His leg slipped down under his own desk as he forgot to hold it up and he _purred_ \- quiet, but still there, a pleased rumble which only she, Alya and Nino could hear.

Marinette smiled. _Write it on my tombstone, Tikki; Struck down by cupid's arrow._


	2. 2

Adrien was on top of the world.

He had figured out early on that while Nino was a bit more touchy-feely than most, most boys - his best friend included - didn't always enjoy contact. Same with girls, really; if you weren't careful, it was easy to make them hate you just by poking them wrong. Which was... kind of a problem, because Adrien was, and always had been, a very physical person.

He patted his friends on the shoulder, hugged people he liked, sought his Lady's hands whenever he could. Her touch was his catnip, dragging him in and making his smile wide enough that it couldn't fit through a door. While akumas didn't often give them the opportunity, he adored the times he got to simply sit on rooftops with his lady, cuddling up next to her and letting her hands work magic through his hair, undoing his worries with gentle ministrations. She'd scratch behind his ears and under his chin, and her smile would grow whenever he purred. He swore there was no happier cat in Paris.

However, Adrien had never really been close enough to any other girls for them to show affection. Nino, best bro that he was, didn't mind that Adrien liked to get close, but didn't really return the affections. Alya, Nino's girlfriend, was also nice, but they weren't close enough for him to expect anything.

Then there was Marinette.

Adrien was certain she still hated him, but was too nice to show it. She was, in a word, a sweetheart; she always had a bakery smell hanging around her, was always trying to do the right thing even when it hurt her, and her sunny face smiled at everyone who went by. He was fairly certain that everyone in class - even Chloe, though she'd jump off the Notre Dame before she admitted it - liked her. Nino had even had a crush on her at one point, though it didn't last long after being faced with Alya.

It was a real pity she didn't seem to like him. The smiles she sent everyone else always melted into panic whenever he got close, and the eloquent confidence she normally had collapsed into stuttering as she searched for an escape. There were times - like when he'd gone to her house and played Mecha Strike with her - where he thought he'd made progress, only for her to return to her unsure mumblings the next week. But he could hope!

And his hopes had never been more _right._

When delicate fingers had grazed his hair, Adrien froze. Nino was staring at him and then up to where Marinette sat, which told him who it was, but that didn't explain why her hands were there. However, her fingers flexed, running through and dropping away, and he found himself subconsciously falling back towards them. Habit had him anticipating the next time her hands touched his head, and he felt something giddy rising in his chest as they ran over his scalp soothingly, the same way his lady did. It was pleasant, and gentle, and her fingers were soft, and Marinette didn't seem to be faltering or escaping at all!

He didn't dare look behind him, just in case she stopped, but he leaned back a little more to give her better access. Her fingers easily shifted to smooth through his bangs, and the smile he'd fought to keep off his face reached out and broke through.

His thoughts were a mess. Mostly, he was focusing on _\- She liked him!_ She was comfortable, and not squirming, and she was petting him, and it was awesome! Only his lady had petted him before, but now there were _two_ cute girls who liked him enough to pet him!

The rest of his brain was preoccupied with, _yay! soft!_ , so he decided to stop thinking and closed his eyes.

* * *

A few minutes later, much to his horror, Marinette's fingers froze and withdrew.

Adrien reluctantly opened his eyes and turned his head to look up at the girl above him. Her ocean-blue eyes were staring at him in open shock, but they closed off the moment their eyes met. His heart sank, but he didn't say a word in the hope she wouldn't stutter or look away, instead just fixing his gaze on hers.

It took all of his willpower not to grab her hands and bring them back down on his head. Knowing how skittish Marinette could be, however, reminded him that doing so would only mean ' _no more scritches for you, kitty-cat'._

He hoped there would be more scritches. They were nice. But with Marinette's expression there might not be.

Her gaze moved up to Alya. Adrien followed her eyes mournfully - _there goes my hopes and dreams of friendship -_ right up until she spoke.

"What?" She asked, genuinely confused. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Adrien's eyes widened as she turned back to him. He tried to focus on both her fingers and her eyes at the same time, but failed, because her fingers were getting closer and closer...

She ran a languid stroke of fingers through his hair and smiled.

 _Smiling!_ He thought gleefully, not even trying to fight the grin on his face. _At me! Marinette!_

Then, of course, his thoughts returned to _soft! yay!_

Truly, this was the best day ever. A new friend! And getting pets from someone! Both of those someones being Marinette!

Plagg mumbled something too quiet to hear.

 _Shut up, Plagg_ , Adrien mentally commanded. _I'm too busy being happy to feed you._


End file.
